Seen in the News

[Stanley]

Any Geordie knows the answer to that question David. (They called it a worm.)

[Tripps]

Careful now - deep water ahead.

I assume you refer to the Lambton Worm.

I seem to recall that Sue is the site expert on the subject.

This came from Wearside - whose inhabitants take exception to being called Geordies. They prefer to known as Mackems

[Tizer]

NATO has now confirmed the news that North Korean troops are in the Kursk region...
`Nato says North Korean troops deployed to Russia's Kursk region' LINK
NATO refuses to send troops into the Ukraine war but if Russia can send in Korean ones perhaps we could send troops from non-NATO countries?

[Stanley]

It's worrying stuff Peter.
And THIS report of Zelensky snubbing Guterres is just as worrying.
Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected a visit to Ukraine by UN Secretary General António Guterres over his trip to Russia, a source in the presidential office has told the BBC. After attending a Brics summit in the Russian city of Kazan this week, Guterres had wanted to visit Kyiv, the BBC understands. "The president did not confirm his visit," the source told the BBC. "After Kazan and after he shook hands with the war’s instigator and spent UN Day on the territory of the aggressor country, it would be somehow strange to host him here." Guterres' visit to Russia - who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - was met with dismay across Ukraine.

[Tripps]

This seems to have escaped major coverage in the UK media.
Fire destroys German Fire Station

Interesting to note that the emphasis of the report is that despite being a Fire Station there were no fire alarms, and in fact they were not obligatory. (How amusing). The report states that " it burned to the ground because it had not been equipped with a fire alarm".

That is most unlikely to be true, and I would say deliberate mis-reporting. Just the briefest mention of the fact that the cause of the fire was " a battery charger may have overheated". I've resisted the urge to use the word "schadenfreude" as I don't have any here, but it's apparent that there are instructions somewhere on high, to downplay any fires due to the ignition of Lithium ion batteries. See similar for the Luton Airport car park fire. There will be inevitably be a major disaster, with much loss of life - but the march to electric vehicles has too much invested in it to change policy now.

[Stanley]

I saw the Kia advertisement the other day advertising the fact that if you had the correct domestic battery charger and power supply you could charge your battery in 18minutes in optimum conditions.
The snag for me was the fact that it would be 800W and 350kv. As you would say David, "What could possibly go wrong?"

[PanBiker]

Did you see the footage of the Mercedes electric car spontaneously bursting into flames on the owners drive while parked overnight. It wasn't even charging, took part of the house frontage and garage doors with it. Even the higher end marques seem to be dodgy.

A few years ago I had a run in with a "dead " lithium flat pack battery I was changing in a tablet computer. To all intents and purposes it was duff, wouldn't hold a good enough charge to power the device. 11 volt or so when good, my meter confirmed it was only retaining less than a 3 volt charge. It was secured by double sided tape in the case and it decided to rupture when I was easing it out with a flat plastic tool. Dead internal short between positive and negative so all residual current was in play to create a very fast Roman Candle effect. Scary to say the least and makes you think about what would happen with a similar failure of a phone in your pocket.

Some manufacturers of lithium powered device recommend that you don't charge them overnight or unattended.

[Tizer]

Have a look at this latest news on the MoneySavingsExpert web site. Although it's about the car finance mis-selling scandal we all know about this is a sudden change sending shock waves through the car retail and finance businesses...
`Update. Landmark Court of Appeal ruling has the potential to shake up more than just car finance'
MSE web site

[Stanley]

"Some manufacturers of lithium powered device recommend that you don't charge them overnight or unattended."
That's advice I always follow Ian and the only devices I have that need charging in the house are my 'phone and shaver.
I've just realised that I have never heard of any problems with De Walt batteries charging in the shed....

Speaking of fires.... Have a look at THIS BBC report about the fire at BAe at Barrow yesterday.
Two people were taken to hospital after a "significant fire" broke out at the BAE Systems nuclear submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. The blaze at the site, where the UK's nuclear submarines are built, was reported at 00:44 GMT on Wednesday. Those taken to hospital were thought to be suffering from smoke inhalation and have since been released, BAE confirmed, with everyone "accounted for". Cumbria Police said there was "no nuclear risk". An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way.

HERE'S a depressingly familiar report on Israel's military activities.....
An Israeli military official has told the BBC that it carried out a deadly strike on a five-storey residential building in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza on Tuesday in response to seeing a “spotter” on the roof with binoculars observing Israeli forces. Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said more than 90 Palestinians, including 25 children, were killed or missing beneath the rubble of the building, which collapsed as a result of the strike. The military official said it was not a planned strike and troops did not know the building was being used as a shelter for displaced people. They also said there were discrepancies between the number of casualties reported and what the military had observed. The strike provoked a strong response from Israel's closest ally, the US, which described it as a “horrifying incident with a horrifying result” and demanded an explanation.

[Tizer]

That Israeli strike caught my eye too. They saw one man with binoculars on the roof of the five-storey residential building then blew up the whole building, civilian men, women, children and all. It's diabolical. Sadly, I believe Putin and his henchmen have seen the Israeli IDF getting away with killing civilians regardless of the UN and so have adopted the same approach...
`Russian drones hunt civilians, evidence suggests' BBC News this morning

Meanwhile even China is worried by North Korea's latest missile test, launched on a semi-vertical trajectory to 4,350 miles altitude.
South Korea had also warned on Wednesday that the North was preparing to fire its ICBM close to the US presidential election on 5 November. (BBC)

[PanBiker]

Don't they have snipers? Not in the remit when prosecuting genocide.